Town's artistic heritage marked with plaque trail

The 13 plaques commemorate people who have contributed to Masham's artistic history

A trail of plaques celebrating "creative legends" who have links to a North Yorkshire market town has been unveiled.

The 13 plaques celebrate figures ranging from composers and painters to fishermen and cobblers, including artist JMW Turner and film director Ken Loach.

Josie Beszant, from Masham Art Gallery, who created the trail, said while some of the plaques remembered "serious artists", others celebrated "local legends".

"We realised there's this rich history of artists and makers and musicians living here over the last 300 to 400 years, but they weren't written down in any one place," she explained.

Nearly half the population of Masham took part in a vote on social media to decide who should be commemorated on the plaques, Ms Beszant said.

She had previously written about the historical figures in her blog and, after receiving positive feedback, she decided the "vibrant creative community" of the town needed to be properly celebrated, she added.

One plaque was made to celebrate Masham's "quirkiness", its creator says

Ms Beszant said the gallery acquired funding through the Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund, which was created by the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire earlier this year in a bid to boost visitor numbers to towns and villages.

Perhaps the most noteworthy name on the plaques trail is JMW Turner, a famous romantic painter who stopped in Masham on his travels.

While in the town, Turner made a sketch of Masham Bridge, which is now in the Tate Archives.

Other plaques celebrate Ken Loach, who filmed scenes from Days of Hope in Masham in 1975; Priscilla Warner, a painter, children's author and illustrator who lived in the town; and Arthur Plumpton, who is described on his plaque as a "barber here for 60 years, seller of fishing supplies and Robin Reliant fan".

Meanwhile, another plaque, which Ms Beszant referred to as "quirky", states: "At this location on the 17th of July 1775 nothing much happened."

Film director Ken Loach is commemorated on one of the plaques, marking his visit in 1975

Explaining the meaning behind the plaque, she said: "We wanted to include a bit more about the community now.

"That plaque really came from the idea that we could make this trail a bit quirky, a bit different, a bit peculiar - and it fits with Masham being a slightly odd place in some ways."

Ms Beszant said that many Masham residents did not know who those being commemorated were before seeing the plaques.

She added that the trail had also sparked interest among visitors to the town, with many people asking about the plaques, and some people even going off to do more research on the history of the creatives.

"I've even had some people come into the gallery to say they've started to collect some of these artists," she said.

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